Crossroads, Unlikely
by Lunatastic
Summary: Bella is enrolled at the University of Washington in Seattle. Alice convinces her to go on a date with a pro football player who, at the start of everything, seems to be an utterly annoying idiot. But with him he brings some unlikely crossroads that will seal her fate. Rated M for language and scrumptious lemony goodness in later chapters. Somewhat OOC, AH
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**** Okey dokey, so, first Twilight fic. And sorry about the somewhat cheesy name. This idea actually came to me when I was reading some God awful magazine, but I guess I should be thankful for it otherwise I wouldn't have this! I hope y'all enjoy the first chapter.**

**~Lunatastic**

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The bar was surprisingly classy for a bar. This was a bar where men already knew what their type of scotch was and how to hold their alcohol. This was a bar where drunkards weren't accepted and where the ladies had a fine selection of wine to choose from, if they didn't want a taste of the heavier things in life. This was a bar that didn't hold a hint of a cheesy flashing sign or the nose crinkling smell of cheap spilled beer. This was a bar where paparazzi waited outside for stars of all kinds to wander in. This was a bar that had presented itself as being above her expectations.

What she had expected was to meet up at an overfilled, presumptuous, college bar with whores on the dance floor and druggies in the corners. Those were the only one's she'd been taken to since she started at the University of Washington four years ago. Alice had assured her otherwise, but the fear had still niggled at her in the back of her mind.

Bella's eyes searched the room hungrily. She wondered if it could be the man sitting in the booth secluded in the corner. His face was shielded by darkness, his legs tucked carefully under the table, almost as if he didn't want to be seen. No, Alice had said that he was confident. Well, she had used somewhat different words, but that was the gist of it. Someone confident wouldn't sit somewhere to hide themselves.

Maybe it was the man chucking darts somewhat drunkenly at the board. His tie was already sitting askew on his chest and all the buttons undone on his jacket. No, that man was too obvious. And, even if it was him, she didn't want the obvious, over exuberant man. She'd already had enough of that for a lifetime or two.

She pondered over the man nervously fingering the edge of a glass of amber liquid. His eyes darted back and forth across the women in the bar, passing right over her. The glass shook as he brought it quickly to his lips, splashing on him. She felt a flash of sympathy, but concluded that he wasn't who she was searching for. He would've recognized her, since Alice had supposedly told him all about her.

Bella perused the rest of the men in the bar, though no more were left without a woman hanging from their arm. Her stomach was beginning to churn, but she convinced herself to sit down at one of the swiveling bar stools lined up along the long strip of bar. Ten more minutes and she could leave. Okay, maybe just five. It was his fault, since he was the one who was late. The bartender sauntered over to her, leaning casually against the side opposite her. She was too nervous to do anything but stare down at her lap and play with the edge of her very short dress that Alice had forced her into.

After a few moments of silence from the lost looking woman in front of him, he cleared his throat. She didn't look up. "Scotch on the rocks please." Was all she said. He nodded, though she couldn't see him. She remembered before he walked out of hearing range. "And would you mind, erm, maybe watering down a little?" Bella had never been one to stomach strong drinks, but wines and beer just weren't her thing. She heard him chuckle, deep and throaty, before he walked away to grab he watered down scotch.

She was panicking more now. What if he didn't show up? She would be humiliated. Bella couldn't help but feel the threatening stares of the other women in the bar burning into her back. She could feel their eyes assessing her. She was new to their territory, a threat, not that could ever think of herself being viewed that way. She never saw the way that men's eyes wandered up her petite curves and small waist, and could never suspect the way that they craved to tug on and run their fingers through her thick, shiny brown locks, or imagine that they saw images depicted in their minds of taking her skinny little legs and wrapping them around their hips as they pounded into her. No, she could never even guess at the way that some men craved for the feel of her flesh pressed against theirs.

Men wanted innocence. And Bella seemed to be as innocent as they came.

"Here's your drink." The bartender said, his voice sexy and velveteen. It made butterflies flutter in her gut. She still didn't look up. He laid a square wood coaster down before setting her drink on it, the ice clinking against the cool glass. She picked it up immediately, reveling in the feel of the already formed condensation against the heated skin of her hand. She would've pressed the glass to her forehead had she not been in public.

"Thank you." She said, her voice cracking, before taking a sip. She let a small smile fall upon her face. The drink was just how she liked it; more water than scotch, but she was a lightweight. Even just a few of those could have her stumbling drunkenly around the bar. She glanced down at her wrist, but all she found was a bare patch of skin that was slightly whiter than the rest of her skin. She always wore her watch, but Alice had practically torn her wrist off trying to get the bulky thing off of her.

"You think I'm going to let you keep _that_ on?! It'll ruin your whole outfit!" She had whined. Bella had caved, never being able to resist the childlike lull of Alice's pouting. Plus, Rosalie had backed Alice up. Bella never stood a chance even against tiny Alice, let alone the both of them.

Bella sighed and rubbed at her wrist woefully. She couldn't spot another clock in the bar so she resigned herself to waiting. And waiting. She didn't know how she had gotten herself into this situation, letting Alice set herself up on a blind date. With a pro _football _player of all things. She was somewhat aware of their notorious reputations of being egotistical, but maybe this one was different. After all, Alice's Jasper was a football player and he was a nice guy.

After what she guessed was a half hour of sitting at that damned bar stool, she was fed up. Her butt was aching, her feet hurt from the tight heels, and her boobs were a bit sore from being squeezed into her push up bra for at least two hours. She stood up, her drink not even half finished, and headed for the door. About a third of the way there, a man walked in. A single man. She continued on, barely registering him. But he registered her. This was the woman Alice had had Jasper tell him about.

His hand landed heavily on her shoulder, not helping her stay sturdily upright. It had taken her hours and hours of practice to learn how to walk in heels without tripping over her feet every two seconds, and she still wasn't comfortable in them. She wobbled for a moment, but managed to regain some of her balance.

"Can I help you?" She asked, flustered, looking up at his looming form. His skin was tanned in a way that suggested ethnic blood and his eyes were a deep shade of brown. She could've said black, but the lighting of the bar let her make out the pinpoint of a pupil in his eyes. His jaw and cheekbones were defined in an almost girlish fashion and his hair was spiked with gel, making it look somewhat greasy. Even under his suit, anyone could tell that he had some hulking muscles and a well built form. Rosalie would call him hot and Angela would call him attractive, though it would probably take a little while to get that reaction out of her. But Bella... Bella was too annoyed and tired to really care.

"Jacob." He said. The name rung a faint bell in the back of her mind.

"The football player." Her tone made it a question.

"The one and only." He said spreading his arms and letting a cocky grin slide onto his face.

She was about to point out how stupid that was, since she could name at least three other football players off the top of her head (but only three, she wasn't much into football), but she held her tongue, wanting to make a good impression. "You're late." She said simply, trying not to let any snark slide into her tone.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Traffic in Seattle is a bitch." He said, cocky smile still on his face. All she did was raise an eyebrow. She usually didn't have this much sass in her, but her annoyance fueled her. He didn't notice, only gestured to the bar. He walked ahead of her, taking a seat. Bella wasn't one for conflict in any form, so she followed his mutely. "A red wine for the lady and tequila on the rocks for me." She rolled her eyes. Both at his drink choice and what he had dubbed her. The bartender had switched to being a woman, though Bella didn't notice the previous one wiping tables down in the background.

There were a few moments of awkward silence. "So, what position do you play?" Bella asked, grubbing around for some sort of conversation. "In football." She added, as though he didn't know what she was talking about. She wanted to smack herself.

"I'm a running back." He said, then went into some God awful monologue about his adventures on the field. Bella gulped down the wine, wincing at the flavor, but she needed the alcohol. He didn't notice her desperate grab for a distraction. He talked about his touchdowns, his stats, his tackles, his sacks, his yards... basically he talked about himself, himself, himself, himself. For an hour.

A velveteen voice interjected into their conversation. "Would you like another drink?" Bella looked at him this time. An alien from another planet could've wandered into the bar asking to speak to their leader and she wouldn't have given a flying fuck about it.

The man in front of her, leaning oh-so-casually against the bar, he was... well, he was fucking gorgeous. His hair was a sexy copper mess and Bella found her fingers itching to run through it. His jaw was chiseled as a statue's and covered in a light dusting of stubble. She wanted to lean over and rub her cheek against it, wanted to revel in the way it would pull and scratch against her bare skin. Then she found his eyes. Holy shit, his _eyes_. The urge to strip right there, in front of God and everyone, and dive into their golden depths was overwhelming. Blood rushed to her cheeks, and, finding no more room in her face, raced down her neck and into her chest, heating her skin even further.

Jacob found himself presented with the opportunity to stare openly at her flushed chest. Her chest was heaving, making her breasts move lustfully. They were a little small for his taste, but he bet she would be the tightest woman he would get the chance to fuck. She was a small little thing, almost as small as Jasper's girl. He would have to remind himself to thank... whatever her name was if he ever saw her again. He was disgruntled when she stood up and turned slightly away from him, if only because it blocked his view.

"I'll be right back." Bella said breathlessly, offering nothing more as an explanation. She heard his now familiar throaty chuckle chase her as she left. She could feel his eyes heating her back, entirely different from the previous stares of the jealous women throughout the bar. She hurried to the bathroom, trying to inhale as much oxygen as possible. The door was labeled powder room, whatever that meant. The sign was pink, so she pushed her way through, hoping that she wouldn't discover any male appendages in the room.

Thankfully she didn't. What she did discover were mirrors. A whole flock of them, lined up primly against the wall. She surveyed herself in the nearest one, blushing even more once she realized how much she was blushing already. Her mother would've called it adorable. Bella thought it was horrifying. She blamed her blushing gene on her father, who would turn as red as a ripe tomato when he talked about anything that remotely involved emotions. She turned to grab a wad of paper towels and fanned herself with them; it didn't make her feel any cooler.

She whimpered. She would just have to face him. He was probably used to this reaction all the time. Why would she be any different? And it probably wouldn't take much effort to get that lump of a football player out of the bar. He was probably imagining how to get in her pants right now. She threw the paper towels down one of those weird chute things in the counter, smoothed her ruffled dress, and started walking back towards the bar.

His eyes flashed to her as soon as she exited. She was so interesting. There was something about her that he couldn't place. He had pegged himself as a people person; he had developed a knack for reading people in his dealings at the bar. He learned how to after a while, since reading people and knowing their moods could be the difference between having a friendly conversation and getting his teeth knocked out.

But this one... she was a mystery. He would've recognized Jacob Black anywhere. He was the Seahawk's starting Running Back. Most fans would worship the ground he walked on. Black had already broken Adrian Peterson's record for rushing yards in his rookie year, the number of sacks made by a rookie player, and carried the team to victory numerous times in his short two years of playing. He'd met girls who would've killed to be in that woman's place.

He'd only put a few drops of Scotch in her drink, which would've pissed most people off if they were expecting to ingest some amount of alcohol. But she had just smiled happily down at her water. She also didn't seem to notice the lustful stares the men from all round the room were shooting her. Most, if not all, women would've preened under the gazes, but she was so aloof that it didn't seem to matter.

Bella walked nervously back to the bar, keeping her eyes trained on Jacob. "Would you like to get out of here?" She asked, her voice shaking. Jacob was either too caught up in himself or the idea of having her in his bed to notice.

"Yeah. I have the car waiting outside." He grabbed her hand and yanked her roughly to the door. She stumbled but managed to stay upright, since the other option was being dragged across the floor. She thanked Alice mentally for dropping her off, since she had no idea what she would've done with her car. Bella heard cameras clicking and she shielded her eyes from the brightly winking lights of the cameras. Jacob just smiled dutifully at the paparazzi outside of the bar as his car was brought from around back. She was shoved unceremoniously into the tiny little thing of a sports car. She barely had any foot room, so she didn't know what that monstrosity of a man was going to do with his.

When he climbed into his seat, he seemed cool, calm, and collected. Bella didn't note the glinting spark of excitement in his eyes, or the way that his mind was already reeling with the idea of his cock in her tiny body. The car growled beneath them as he revved the engine.

They rode in silence, Bella's happiness plummeting to surprisingly low levels. Smaller cars had always made her grow nauseous, and this was the smallest freaking one she'd ever been in. As she finally noticed the street signs, she grew confused. "This isn't the way to my house." Bella resided in a medium-sized house just off of the UW campus that she shared with Rosalie, Alice, and Angela. None of them had wanted to join sororities or live in a crappy dorm room, so they had all shacked up. It worked well for them.

"We're going to my place." He said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Um, I would rather go home. I'm tired and a little bit tipsy." She said, though she was neither. Jacob clenched his fists tighter against the steering wheel. He wasn't used to girls being stubborn. As she rattled off the address, he decided that maybe this was the best thing. She probably just didn't want to portray herself as easy or something. Not that he would care. She would be begging to have him inside her soon enough. Just a couple more dates.

He turned the car around. Jacob knew these streets like the back of his hand, since he'd grown up living in them. It wasn't until he'd been recruited straight out of high school that he'd had any sort of money. But it had gone to his head quickly as he abandoned his previous friends for his teammates and signed a multimillion dollar contract for the Seahawks, which was big for a rookie.

They pulled up to her house and he was amused at the smallness of it, since he knew four girls were sharing it. He stepped out to open her door, but she was out before he could even suggest it. They walked to her front door.

"Well, Jacob it was nice meeting you, but-" He didn't really give a damn as to what she was saying. His lips slammed roughly against hers before she could finish. His hands groped hungrily against her flesh, squeezing uncomfortably. She was surprised and disgusted at the feel of his moist lips against her, as well as the feel of his too warm hands against her breasts through the thin dress. Her hands came up against his chest and she tried to push him away, but she didn't have the strength to accomplish even that. His large frame trapped her against the door. All she could manage was turning her head, but all he did in return was run his lips down her neck.

"Jacob, I think we're going to call it a night." She said, struggling against him again. He would have to cooperate if she was going to get away. He pulled away, his eyes full of heat. He saw how this was going to go. She was going to play hard to get, but that was okay with him. He liked the chase and it was refreshing to have to prove himself instead of just having the woman throw himself at him. He ran his hand up her bare arms one last time and she shivered in a mixture of anger, disgust, and fear. All he saw was her shivering with desire.

"I'll call you." He said before turning around and taking himself back to his sports car. She opened the door and tumbled into the house, stalking to her bedroom.

Alice bounded out of her room at the sound of the opening door. "So, how was it?!" She asked excitedly.

"He was a pompous prick of an asshat, who could talk about himself to the end of his days." Bella exhumed angrily, going into the bathroom to scrub at her mouth with a washcloth. She still had the God awful taste of his tongue stuck on her taste buds. "He practically attacked me when we got out of the car. And he thought we were going to go back to his place already. Let's just say I wouldn't be too sad if he got severely injured within the next few days."

"Maybe he was just having a bad day..." Alice trailed off.

"Alice, just go back to Jasper." Alice's cheeks warmed when Bella pointed out that she knew about the man currently residing in Alice's bed. Alice tripped back to her boyfriend and bounded into bed, thouroughly waking him up.

"Please tell me their date went well so Black will stop pestering me about women. And stop looking at you like you're a meal." He groaned sleepily into the pillow. Alice kissed his back once, twice, three times, then spread herself over him. The top of her head to the bottom of her feet barely spanned from his neck to just past his butt. "Great." He said sarcastically, then flipped quickly onto his back to wrap Alice in his arms.

"Bella doesn't take kindly to assholes." She chirped, making him chuckle.

"Just promise me that you don't either." Was all he said before he tranformed back into a sleeping rock.

Meanwhile, Bella was collapsed against her closed door. She had scrubbed her mouth clean with a toothbrush and even considered rinsing it with soap. She let the back of her head hit the back of the door softly, letting a sigh rush from her lips. This had not been one of her favorite evenings. Being alone at a bar for so long, having to listen to that idiot ramble on for what seemed like days, feeling his lips against hers... and he was, apprently, still going to call her. The only good part of the evening, if you could even call it that, was seeing... _him_. Her eyes widened and her pulse increased just thinking about his lips, his eyes, his hair, his jaw. He was the most breathtaking man she had ever had the chance to lay eyes on.

Alcohol still running through her system and thoughts of the bartender prancing through her head, Bella crawled into bed and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

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_Please review :)_


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, fist off, I wanted to apologize for the wait. The very, _very _long wait. Some of you probably thought I was dead. I could give you a long list of excuses, blah blah blah, but I'd rather just start updating quickly now to make up for it, yeah? Okay, here's chapter two and I wanted to thank anyone who is continuing to read this. You're amazing and surprisingly patient.**

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Bella sighed, almost at the end of her rope. When her phone finally stopped its blasted chirping, she glanced at her alarm clock. It was only eleven o'clock on a Sunday and Jacob had already called three times. Yesterday, the day after their God awful date, he'd called four times. After chewing Alice out for giving him her number (though feeling guilty afterwards), she'd mustered up enough courage to call him back.

Of course, the bastard hadn't picked up.

Now she was just avoiding his calls because… well, it was for many reasons. But the biggest one was that she just really, _really_ didn't want to have anything more to do with his egotistical, self absorbed, annoying self.

Unfortunately, Alice wasn't okay with that.

Bella had been sitting, _completely relaxed_, munching on her oatmeal at eight o'clock. At first, she didn't look up at the quiet scrape of the chair across from her. She already knew who it was, since that someone had pestered her almost non-stop for more details on her so-called date. But after five minutes of the somewhat unnerving sound of only her chomping on her breakfast, she had given in.

"I'm not going out with him again." Bella had grumbled, disappointed in herself for talking first.

"Could you just give him one more chance? For me?" Alice pleaded for what must've been the millionth time.

"You've asked me that question way too many times in the past 24 hours." Bella sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger.

"I'm surprised you haven't given in yet." Alice threw in, shrugging her shoulders. She then crossed her arms as a pout grew upon her face. "No one can usually resist me for this long." Bella laughed out loud despite her annoyance.

"Alice, you're incorrigible." She said, then scooped more oatmeal into her mouth.

The door bell rang and Alice leapt excitedly from her chair. "Jazz is here!" She sang, as if the whole house needed to be alerted to his presence. Her head whipped back around to look at Bella, the smile wiped from her face and replaced by a cutting expression."_This isn't over_." She then proceeded to prance from the room at another resounding ring.

Bella quickly retreated to her room, slightly concerned about Alice's mood swings, knowing that the pair downstairs would be sickeningly lovey dovey. She flopped onto her bed gracelessly, managing to stub her toe on the side of bed in the process. She groaned and rubbed her toe, wondering how she had possibly managed to stay upright in heels a couple of nights ago.

Thinking of her disastrous date only made thoughts of _him _pop into her head.

His copper hair.

His toned arms.

His chiseled jaw.

His velvety voice.

His deep chuckle.

His gorgeous eyes.

His _golden _eyes.

_His eyes._

Bella's heart fluttered erratically. She cursed herself for letting her mind wander this way. For all she knew, he could be some psychopathic serial killer who scoped out his next victim by seeing what their favorite drink was. This, of course, was a ridiculous thought, but you never really knew. Eighteen years of living with the Seattle Chief of Police had taught her that.

She hummed, breathing out and dismissing her notions. She glanced at her clock, glared at it when she saw it was almost nine, then slowly gathered a towel and the clothes she was going to wear for the day. Neither the shower nor the clothes were technically a necessity, since all she would be doing was homework and studying for her classes, but staying in pajamas all day annoyed her. Angela thought she was crazy, since she lived in the same pair of pajamas for her weekend of studying.

The poor girl didn't have much of a social life. She would really need to talk to Alice about that.

The heat of the languorous water running down her back was heaven, relaxing her tensed muscles and returning some much needed energy to her. Bella would never truly admit it, to herself or others, but she wasn't the most confident person on the planet, to say the least. Between eating glue in kindergarten and chewing her hair in high school, there had been no time for her to develop. In _any_ way. These last few years of college had been magical, finally transforming her into a physically and emotionally attractive woman. _Too _attractive, if Bella could have any say in it.

As Bella was sudsing up her hair, there was a loud rap across the bathroom door. "Bella, there's someone here for you." Angela's voice sounded sympathetic and scared at the same time.

"Three guesses as to who it is." She grumbled to herself. "I'm a little busy here Angela!"

"Bella, if you don't get your butt out here right now I will have Rosalie come in there and drag you out!" Alice's hiss wasn't quite audible over the pounding of the water, but Bella heard the threat in it. She shut of the shower head hurriedly, toweling herself off and throwing on her clothes. They weren't very attractive. Maybe they would drive him away. This was her best chance.

She burst from the bathroom door and moved past Angela and Alice. A tiny hand wrapped around her wrist, trapping her. "You are _not _going down there like that. C'mere." Bella attempted to protest, but Alice quickly pushed her down on the toilet, gathering a hairdryer, straightener, and makeup from the various drawers about the bathroom.

"Alice, if he doesn't accept me like this, there's no point in dating him." Bella sighed.

"He can learn to accept you better later, right now you need to _impress_." She said with a flourish of her hands, black tooth comb and Alice sized hairdryer in hand. Personally, Bella would rather climb into a pit of angry scorpions than attempt to impress anyone in the remote vicinity of Jacob Black, but there was simply no arguing with Alice and her arsenal of persuasive ways.

"Should we really make him wait?" Angela asked meekly.

"Angela, this will take me ten, fifteen minutes tops. Just stall the man." Alice commanded. Angela was gone with a turn and a shuffle of her feet, leaving Bella undefended to Alice's whims.

After twenty minutes of poking and prodding, Alice was done. "I guess the clothes are fine, just make sure that you don't slump. You're already short enough." Bella pinched the bridge of her nose between her hands, counted to ten, then followed Alice out of the bathroom, slumping her shoulders while she was at it. He clomped down the stairs, making her step sound as unattractive as possible, if that was even a thing.

When she reached the bottom of the staircase, she really wished she hadn't, because there, sitting in the chair she had been occupying about an hour ago, was the guy she had fallen asleep fantaizing about.

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** Yes, I realize this chapter was short. But there's a reason for that. I was actually wondering if you guys would prefer it like this. If chapters are shorter, like this, you will get updates, much much more quickly, probably three or maybe even four times a week. If they are longer, you'd probably get one _maybe_ two per week. Please tell me in a review or PM, I'd really appreciate it. Until next time guys, and expect quicker updates. Love y'all!**

**-Lunatastic**


	3. Chapter 3

**Why hello there! See, I told you I wouldn't disappear this time. So it seems a few of you wanted me to opt for the shorter chapters, more updates option, so that's what I'm going with. Each chappie will only be about 1,500 words, but they'll be consistent. Hey, you never know, maybe you'll be lucky and get a longer one every once in a while. I just wanted to thank everyone who's favorite/followed and reviewed this story so far. I really appreciate it.**

**Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. Damn.**

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"Told ya you would want to look nice." Alice whispered into Bella's ear as she pranced into the room to embrace Jasper's side. Bella would've glared at her or thrown something only somewhat soft, but she was a little occupied with staring at the fallen angel sitting in front of her. Now that she wasn't looking around frantically for her date or under the influence of alcohol, he only looked more stunning. She was kicking herself mentally for leaving early from the bar while she closed her mouth. Wouldn't want to catch any flies.

"Hello. Isabella, isn't it?" The man with the golden eyes asked. His mouth pulled up in a crooked smile and his stare made her legs turn to jello. She leaned against the wall in what she thought was a casual way. Really, it just made her look exactly how she felt.

Intoxicated.

It took Bella a few moments to find her voice. "Um, yes. Yeah." She shook her head and now curled hair. "Sorry, yes it is. Most of my friends call me Bella though."

He chuckled. And it made him more attractive. Bella wanted to whack her head or pinch herself to make sure she wasn't delusional. "Nice to hear that you consider me as a friend." His smile grew to include his whole mouth. She wondered how soft those lips would feel against hers. Or how his slight stubble would rub roughly against her cheek. Or how his long fingers would run through her hair. She really needed to screw her head on straight.

He reached around to his back pocket, pulling out something that looked very familiar to her. "You left this sitting on my bar Friday night. Seemed as if you were in a hurry to get out of there." He crooked his head, examining her in a way that made her whole body flare with heat.

"Yeah, you can thank a self-absorbed football player for that one." The phrase popped out of her mouth before she could stop it. She heard Alice huff in annoyance, but was distracted by the full belly laughter of her bartender.

"Most of them are." He commented when he stopped laughing.

"I resent that." Jasper said as he crooked an eyebrow.

"Oh, come cousin, I'm only playing with you." He said, clapping Jasper on the back. Jasper just shrugged him off playfully, rolling his eyes.

"You're related?" Bella asked.

"Unfortunately." Jasper ground out.

"He's just saying that because I'm the oldest and all of the control when we were younger." He grinned widely.

"Yes, Edward, but who's the bigger one now?" Jasper moved quickly away from Alice and pulled Edward into a headlock, ruffling his hair under an open palm. Alice's high pitched giggle filled the room and Bella just looked on in amusement. Her heart soared to know that she had found a connection to this handsome stranger. She would have an excuse to see him again.

"Mercy! Mercy!" Edward shouted, laughter filling his voice. Jasper released him with one last playful shove, sending him a few feet backwards. Unfortunately- or fortunately, however someone wanted to view it- the headlock Jasper had pulled him into had only managed to make his eyes twinkle with happiness and his hair look even more sexy. Hey, the more the merrier right?

"Thank you, for returning this." Bella clasped the wallet between her fingers then tucked it into the back pocket of her skinny jeans. "Would you, um, like to stay for breakfast?" He didn't need to know that she had already eaten. And it couldn't hurt to demonstrate her French toast making skill for him, right?

"I actually have to run. That's why I had to drop the wallet off so early. Work, and lots of it." Bella tried her best not to look crestfallen. For once, her acting worked. "It was… really nice meeting you Bella. And Jazz, we should get together soon. Catch up." He said as he walked into the hallway leading to the front door.

"You said that last time we saw each other." Jasper said wryly.

"But I just happen to mean it this time!" Edward called over his shoulder before the front door slammed behind him.

As soon as Bella took a look at Alice she could see the wheels turning in her head. "You're scheming." She said accusatorily.

"So what if I am? You didn't like that one's" She pointed at Jasper. "team mate, and you need a guy. You're 21 and you haven't even had sex yet!"

Bella flushed and covered her face with her hands. "Really, Alice, _really_? In front of _Jasper_?"

"Oh, it's not like he didn't already know." She said with a flick of her hands, as if it should have been obvious.

"Alice!" Bella shouted incredulously. Neither of the women noticed Jasper inching quietly towards the stairs.

"You know I have no filter, Bella! And he's the only one I've told, I promise." Her big brown eyes became pleading. "And Edward is great, isn't he? And we'd be real family, wouldn't that be amazing?"

"Alice, I barely even know the man!" Bella knew she really shouldn't have been surprised at this point, but she just couldn't help herself. Jasper was now halfway to the staircase.

"But you could get to know him, couldn't you?" Personally, Bella wouldn't have minded getting to know Edward in any way, shape, or form, but she was currently trying to prove a point. "Jasper, you better just be going upstairs and not leaving this house!" Alice shouted without looking away from Bella.

"Just going upstairs, dear." Jasper said with sarcastic amusement.

"You like him, I can tell." Alice positioned her tiny fists on her hips, determined.

Bella opened her mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again. No excuse or logical argument would come to her mind. Finally, closing her mouth, she groaned. "Just invite him over for dinner or something." Alice shrieked in excitement and hugged Bella around the waist, standing only a few inches shorter than her.

"This is going to be great!" She was gone with another joyful yell and the pitter patter of tiny feet up the stairs. Bella sighed with defeated exasperation.

"What is the elf up to now?" Rosalie asked, yawning, as she padded into the room and sleepily opened the fridge.

"Late night?"

"Yeah. But I didn't want to stay at his house."

"How have you not gotten an STD yet?" Bella asked seriously, not judging at all.

"A combination of luck and smarts."

Bella just shook her head. "Do you want to study for our philosophy test on Tuesday?"

"No I was thinking I would just write "Why not?" on my test and call it a day." Rosalie muttered sarcastically.

"I'll be ready at two." Bella said tiredly as the doorbell rang. She perked up, hoping that Edward would magically show up because he forgot something or other. She smoothed her hair and casually (or what she thought was casually) walked to the door.

What she saw when she opened the door was not in the category of what she had wanted. Instead of receiving sexy, mussed copper hair and golden eyes, she got rumpled, dark brown hair with flat eyes of the same shade. She couldn't help the frown that formed on her face. Not that the asshat in front of her noticed. "Hello, Jacob. How can I help you on this fine Sunday?"

The hostility in her voice went right over his head and shot down to Oregon, where it could probably be appreciated by a finer people than him. "Well, I think Jasper's girl gave me the wrong number because you haven't gotten any of my calls. So I thought I would drop by and ask about our next date." His smile was supposed to be winning, but for all Bella cared he was down by ten with two minutes left in the fourth quarter.

She would really just have to be straight and to the point. Too bad that wasn't her specialty. "Jacob, I'm pretty busy with school and… things. I don't think that another date is going to be possible for awhile."

"That's cool. I have a few games and practices too, since the preseason is kicking off soon. Why don't I call you when I'm free?"

"Well, I mean, I'm going to be pretty busy. This year is my final before I have to start applying for Grad schools, so I really have to buckle down." Her impatience was beginning to show in her voice.

"Aw, c'mon, you've gotta have time for one more date." He said in the douchiest was it could possibly come out.

"No, Jacob, I really don't. So if you could please leave." Bella snapped, glaring up at the man whose form engulfed the front doorway. His eyes hardened at her tone as he realized what she was saying.

"Are you saying… _no_?" His voice was hard. It scared her.

She swallowed thickly, heart suddenly pounding. "Yes. Yes, I am saying no. I don't want to go on another date with you, Jacob." At that, he took a sharp inhale of breath.

"Well, Bella, I don't take too kindly to rejection. A lot of men don't. You'd best remember that when you choose another man to stomp on."

Bella as appalled as much as she was fearful when he turned from her and walked down the pathway to his car.

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**Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed! And I don't want to beg, but I would really appreciate a few more reviews, they'd be awesome. Until next time!**

**~Lunatastic**


	4. Chapter 4

**Why hello there my lovelies. I wasn't planning to update until tomorrow or Wednesday, but I was just so excited and had so many ideas running through my head that I cranked this out really quick. Mind you, this will be the last one for a couple of days. Enjoy!**

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"Mom, let me get that." Bella nudged Renee away from the sink, grabbing the dirty dishes from her hands. Renee tried to protest, but Charlie cut her off.

"Just let the girl do the dishes Renee. I'm sure that all she has to do at her house is throw away takeout boxes."

"Well that's not stereotypical at all, dad." Bella said wryly from her position at the kitchen sink. They had just finished up their dinner, that had included fish of course, and Bella needed something to keep her hands busy. "Besides, you two are probably throwing out more takeout containers than I ever will." The sheepish silence and a peek to their trashcan under the sink confirmed Bella's suspicions. "I have no idea where I got my cooking gene from, since neither of you can manage anything more than fried fish without burning the house down."

Renee laughed while Charlie grumbled his discontent. Renee wrapped her arms around Bella's shoulders. "Thanks for doing the dishes, baby."

"And?" Bella asked innocently.

"And cooking us dinner. It was delicious."

"And?" Bella said, a smile enveloping her face.

"And for still coming over every Wednesday to see us old folks." Renee said with a laugh.

"Nobody's allowed to call me old until I'm a Grandpa." Charlie said with a crisp opening of the daily paper. There was a comfortable silence broken only by the cleaning of dishes, the tappity tap of Renee's texting, and the turning pages of a newspaper. "Seahawks are looking good so far. Season starts soon." Charlie commented nonchalantly. "Glad we got Jacob Black last year."

"Dad, you know that I don't know anything about football." Bella snapped, completely out of character.

"Something wrong, Bells?" Charlie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No. Nothing wrong… just don't like football is all." Bella shrugged it off, rewashing the last dish. Charlie had a lie detector more accurate than a test, and she already knew she was caught. She just didn't want to see the look in her father's eyes that made her feel as if she as being interrogated.

"Bella, we both know that I know that you're lying." His voice took on a hard edge.

"Charlie, don't treat her like a suspect." Renee scolded.

"Well I'm sorry if I want to know what's going on in my daughter's life!" His fist slammed down on the table. He rubbed his palms across his face and sighed. "Bells, I'm sorry. Could you just tell me what's going on, please?" Bella was surprised, since her father usually avoided anything that could turn towards the area of being considered touchy-feely. But Renee had said she'd been trying to get him to "talk out his feelings" or something along those lines.

"I, um, had a date." Bella admitted, turning around to face the dining room table. Renne's face lit up while Charlie's face took on a reddish tint.

"With Jacob Black, I'm guessing?" Well, the man wasn't the Seattle Chief of Police for nothing.

Bella nodded slowly, then threw her hands up in the air. "He's a complete douche, dad!" She shouted, acting like the teenager she never really was. "He's self-absorbed, and arrogant, and I would bet money that he couldn't locate Seattle on a state map. Or Washington for that matter." She finished with a huff a settled gracelessly into a chair.

Renee and Charlie just looked at each other, trying to contain their laughter. "Well, did he, um," Charlie had to cough, trying to be serious. It was his 22 year old daughter's first boy annoyance, after all. "did he try anything."

She thought about the kiss. The kiss that she _really_ hadn't wanted. She could tell Charlie about that, but he would probably blow it out of proportion and have Jacob shot or something. "No, not really." She crossed her arms. Then remembered Sunday night. He had threatened her, hadn't he? No… he had just been angry. He probably wasn't used to being rejected, and this was his way of trying to hurt her back.

"Well, good. Otherwise I would've had him shot or something." Bella laughed at her thoughts coming out of his mouth.

Bella usually hated Thursday. It teased you, tauntingly coming before Friday. The day also held her two least favorite classes, Poetry and Philosophy, whose professors would usually decide to magically assign some lengthy essay that would be due the next time Bella saw them. Thursday was usually the day that they had the worst food in the cafeteria nearest her classes, and she usually never had the time to run home for lunch or the patience to prepare it in the morning. Plus, Thursdays were just damn boring. Nothing usually happened on Thursdays.

_Usually_.

Fortunately for Bella, this particular Thursday had been morphed and manipulated by the fates. Her Philosophy professor had caught something that was bad enough to make him stay home, letting her go home for lunch and then the rest of the day. The Poetry professor hadn't finished looking over their last analysis essay yet, not allowing him to assign anything else as he hadn't successfully acquired a T.A. for the semester.

And Alice had invited Edward over for dinner.

Alice was running around the house like a maniac, making sure all of the food she had bought looked homemade, that the house didn't have any stray underwear, clean or not, lying around, and that the décor and dining set was perfectly straight. And it was only four.

"Alice, we're in college, not sixty. Nobody wants to eat dinner this early." Bella joked, though on the inside she was shaking like a leaf on a tree. And, apparently, it showed.

"Bella, quit acting nervous. You're making me nervous. I don't want to look crazy in front of someone from Jazz's family."

"It's not like his opinion matters to me, Alice. He's my older cousin, not my parents." Jasper threw Alice over his shoulder, heading towards the stairs. "You, my dear, need to relax."

"Jasper, put me down!" Alice cried, banging her tiny, ineffective fists against his back. His deep chuckle shook her form as she squirmed, making no promise.

"Thanks." Bella mouthed to Jasper from a place where Alice couldn't see her. Jasper grinned in response.

"Bella, you are so not going to get out of me doing your hair later!" Alice called, barely audible to Bella now. Bella's only response was to laugh.

Jasper shut the door behind them, throwing Alice down on the bed. She sat up and curled into a ball, crossing her arms over her knees. Jasper flopped down beside her, feeling pretty pleased with himself. "I'm mad at you." Alice said as Jasper pried her hands from her knees.

"You won't be mad at me for long." He said knowingly.

"Really? Because you know how long I can hold a grudge, Jasper Cullen, and-" She was stopped as the doorbell rang. "He's early!" She wailed as she tried to scramble off of the bed, only for Jasper to drag her back again.

"No, I told him to get here this early."

"Why?! Why would you do that?!"

"For a Biochemistry major, you're not very bright, are you?"

Alice was about to smack him on the arm, when she finally realized something. "You invited him early so they could have some alone time, didn't you?"

"Well, Rose and Angela aren't here, and you needed to relax, so I figured it was a good idea."

"I love you!" Alice yelled as she leaped on him.

Meanwhile, Bella was considering running up to Alice for help as the doorbell rang again. But she _really_ didn't walk in on that, so she thought better of it. Maybe she should've let Alice do her hair earlier. She smoothed her skirt and blouse nervously, walking towards the front door. Her short chunky heels seemed to click louder than before, but maybe it as just her nerves.

She opened the front door.

Her heart sparked with electricity and a grin came over her face. "Hey, Edward. Come on in."

He smiled widely and trained his eyes on her, having more of an effect on her than she would've liked. "Thanks. I brought champagne up from the bar. A 1972." As he walked past her, she couldn't help but grab a glance at his ass. And it just happened to be as fine as the rest of him.

"Alice and Jasper should be down soon." Bella said as she grabbed the bottle from him. Their fingers brushed and she made an effort not to shiver from the heat that pooled in her belly.

"Just make sure to store that upside down." He said, voice a little more throaty than usual, not that Bella noticed. All she could do was nod awkwardly and stumble into the kitchen. She set the bottle on the counter, well away from the edge, opened the fridge, and took a well needed breath of cool air. At least he couldn't see her from where he was.

She turned around to grab the bottle, tripping over her own feet as she went. She watched in horror as her hand knocked into the precious bottle of champagne, causing it to tip off the edge of the counter and crash to the floor. The tinkling sound of broken glass filled the air.

"Shit!" Bella whispered harshly to herself as she bent to her knees to begin gathering up the broken pieces of glass. His first real time over and Bella had already managed to break something valuable of his. She wasn't even in his house! Why was she cursed with this godforsaken klutziness?

"Bella? Everything alright?"

"Yeah, it's great!" She didn't hear the footsteps tromping in to the kitchen over the pain of her now cut open and bleeding palm. She let a few more choice words fall from her lips as she cradled her hand in the other, already feeling woozy from the sight of the crimson liquid.

"Let me see." His hand came out of nowhere, reaching for hers. She let him grasp it with only minor protest.

"Edward, I'm so sorry. The champagne is utterly ruined." She groaned, more talking to herself now. "Why do I always have to do this? Me and my clumsiness always ruins something or other. If you don't want to lose anymore of your belongings or limbs, you might want to run away screaming now before-"

"Bella, it's fine." Edward said, cutting her off, still examining her palm and reaching for a dishtowel to wipe off the excess blood. "There's plenty more alcohol where that came from."

Their bodies had been almost pressed together by the small space of the kitchen, and Bella's heart skipped a beat as she realized it. Edward seemed to realize it too as he stopped rubbing the blood away from her hand. His head raised up slowly, his eyes tracing an electrical path from her arm, the her breasts, to her mouth, and finally to her eyes.

Gold fused with chocolate brown and, suddenly, his lips were on hers.

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_Review :)_


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so I realize that this is a short chapter, but you'll hopefully end up thanking me since there is plenty of watered down lemonade for you in this chapter. For those of you who are impatient, just wanted to let you know in advance that the lemons will come much, much later in this story since, you know, Bella is still a virgin and hasn't really moved anywhere further than second base yet. Have fun reading, cuz I had fun writing!**

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The press of Edward's mouth against her own was perhaps the last thing she had expected and for a long moment, Bella didn't know how to react. Her first instinct, surprisingly enough, was to push Edward away, put as much distance between them as possible so he wouldn't have time to feel and sense how strong her feelings for him were already becoming. Her second was to drag herself closer, to drink him in. The moment of indecision lasted too long; she could feel the change in Edward as he prepared to move away from her. That was what made the decision for her.

Though she knew it would have been more sensible to move away from him, barely knowing him and all, she wanted this. She felt an unexplainable and inexplicable pull towards him, something neither her head nor her heart could explain.

Moving her arms to wrap loosely around his neck, she tilted her face up to meet his and felt velvet softness, warmth and anxious heat as she absorbed the feeling of his lips on hers. Edward brushed his lips against her lips gently, once, twice, before becoming a little more firm. Pausing to gauge her reaction and finding no objection, he deepened their kiss, coaxing her into opening up for him. Languidly their tongues dueled with one another, learning every corner, every taste, every movement, Bella's hands rising to tangle in his coppery hair as he pulled her closer to him.

Warring with his desires, Edward forced himself to take things slowly, aware that they could be considered as little more than strangers in their relationship. But he couldn't explain it, he felt something towards this woman, the one who presented herself as a complete enigma to him. Bella shifted, pressing more of herself against him, sighing into his mouth as his hand explored the contours of her back and wound their way into the length of her hair. He caught fire, restraining the urge to push her down to the kitchen floor and cover her body with his own. He kissed her instead as though he could draw life from her mouth, as though it was the single most important thing he had ever done.

It felt like a moment, it felt like forever, before Bella pulled back to look at him. Edward drank in the image of her face, eyes widened in amusing surprise, cheeks flushed, features painted with streaks of sensuality that made her somehow lovelier. Foreheads touching, they leaned in to one another, breathing each other in.

Their eyes opened fully and met each other in startling honesty, their gazes colliding chocolate brown and a deep, lustful gold. Their world seemed to still around them as they looked at each other in surprise and amazement at the sudden connection. Then he smiled and she felt her own lips curl in response.

"I've wanted to do that for awhile now." He confessed, stroking her hair.

She chuckled, a throaty sound that made her sound more confident about this than she felt."We've only known each other for all of five days, so you didn't have to wait that long." She teased- slightly surprised with herself for not sheepishly staring at the floor- though she knew what he meant. She had wanted to that and more as soon as she saw him too.

They stood there for a few more moments, Bella nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent and thoroughly intoxicating herself. She was grateful for that towel still clutched tightly in her injured hand, since she really didn't want their first kiss to involve getting blood in his hair or on his clothes. She pulled away slightly to peer into his eyes. "I'm still sorry about the champagne." She whispered, heat flaring in her belly as she spotted the look in his eyes.

He laughed fully now. "I would let you waste the rest of my champagne and then some if it meant getting to kiss you again." He said, his smile playful but his eyes serious.

"Lucky for you, that probably won't be necessary." She said before gifting him and innocent peck on the mouth. She squeaked in surprise as he lifted her as if she was a feather and set her firmly on the counter. He pressed light kisses against her jaw line and kneaded at her lower back, making her feel like she would defy gravity and float away. Bella felt herself release a moan, but was too caught up in Edward's attentions to blush with embarrassment.

"I knew it!" A loud, chime-like voice shouted from the kitchen doorway.

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**Hehehe, another cliffie. But since this chapter was short (y'all opted for those, btw, so don't blame me) the next chapter will definitely be up within the next couple of days. Love you guys and please review!**

**~Lunatastic**


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